Good day all. Several years ago, some whack job, for reasons still unknown, shot up a large gathering of people from a window in a hotel. This led to the usual “Repeal the 2nd Amendment! Confiscate all guns! Execute Gun Owners now!” screeches from the usual suspects on the left.
One of the items found at the scene of the crime was something called a “Bump Stock.” This is a stock with a spring in it, and when held a certain way can allow a semiautomatic rifle to fire like a machinegun. I’ve heard differing accounts on whether or not the criminal used this. Some say yes, others say no. In any case, President Trump, in one of his few mistakes, had the BATFE rule it illegal to posses.
Now, machineguns and fully automatic weapons are highly, (and we can argue the constitutionality of this later), regulated items. A machinegun or fully automatic rifle is defined as a firearm that continues loading and firing ammunition with a single trigger pull. A semi-automatic firearm requires you to pull the trigger to fire a single round of ammunition.
The bumpstock, using springs and recoil, fires one shot with each trigger pull. However, when held against the shoulder and allowed to “Bump” the shoulder, it resets the trigger and fires again. With someone who has practiced, you can generate a high rate of fire. However, there is a down side. Rifles using a bumpstock are not very accurate. They are actually less accurate then a purpose built fully automatic rifle. This is due to the rifle fitted with a bumpstock being held very loosely against the shoulder.
I do not own a bumpstock, (Not that I would admit that I did of course), and I haven’t used one. I have been told that they are great fun if you have a few hundred rounds of expensive ammunition you want to spray around the back yard, with no expectations of hitting anything. Since the firearm is not snugged up to the shoulder, accuracy suffers greatly.
Now to what is going on. When the BATFE decided to make these illegal, it was promptly challenged in court. Within hours a lawsuit was filed and not surprising anyone, the district court said “Hey! Silly person! What makes you think you have any rights? You have privileges granted to you by the ever so beneficial government regulatory agency.” As you would expect, the plaintiff appealed the decision and the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued their ruling. Here are the details from Breitbart:
On March 25, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled against the ATF’s December 26, 2018, rule declaring bump stocks to be machine guns and prohibiting ownership of said stocks.
A case against the ban was filed in the United States District Court, W.D. Michigan, Southern Division, on December 26, 2018 — the same day that the ATF’s bump stock rule was put forward. Plaintiffs contended the ATF could not declare bump stocks to be machine guns and sought a preliminary injunction against the ATF rule. The District Court ruled in favor of the ATF, finding that the agency was entitled to Chevron deference and thereby able to classify bump stocks as machine guns.
I’m not a legal scholar, and I don’t know much about the Chevron Deference other then what I just linked to. I do have, in my unschooled opinion, an..opinion. This principle is a load of horseshit and is typical of the Deep State type justices we’ve been stuck with for over a century. These are the ones that fail to understand that the Constitution is meant to RESTRICT the government, not defer to a pack of unelected bureaucrats who’s only goal is power and more money for their departments. I find it very refreshing that 6th Circuit reversed the lower court.
The case was then appealed to the Sixth Circuit and, on Thursday, Judge Alice M. Batchelder, a well-respected originalist judge in the mold of Justice Clarence Thomas, handed down a majority opinion against the ATF’s interpretive powers.
It took a little digging, but Judge Batchelder was appointed by George W. Bush, and the other judge who ruled in favor of the Constitution was a Trump appointee. The dissenting judge was also a Bush appointee, and more of pro-statist.
Attorney General Merrick Garland can appeal the case to the Supreme Court of the United States. Otherwise, the Sixth Court’s ruling marks the end of the ATF’s regulatory ban on bump stocks.
Oh that scumbag most certainly will appeal the decision. Garland is no friend of the 2nd Amendment, (Or any part of the Constitution that restricts the power of government), and I expect he will appeal this to the Supreme Court.
This is where things will get interesting. The Supreme Court has been dodging any cases dealing with the 2nd Amendment since the Heller decision. Many people have been itching to get a major case to the Court since the Greatest President of the 21st Century, Donald Trump, appointed three constructionist to the court and flipped it solidly to the right and away from the hard left anti-constitutional judges the Democrats usually appoint.
As I understand it, all it takes are 4 justices agreeing to take the case for it to be heard. It isn’t beyond the realm of possibility that, in spite of the Coward Deep Stater Chief Justice, the case will be heard and could end up blowing the NFA right out of the water. If that were to occur, the left’s dream of gun confiscation will be ended. They will have to actually do the hard work of trying to amend the Constitution to repeal the 2nd Amendment. I think it’s safe to say, that ain’t happening. Stay tuned boys and girls. (Those in between? You can go elsewhere)
Thatisall
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